Speakerphone Review: Testing the Jabra Speak 510+ UC

Jabra Speak 510 is a compact speakerphone device. It’s small enough to fit into your coat pocket, if you really wanted to. Jabra designed it as a high-quality, portable conferencing solution. So we decided to test it out!

For our review, we checked out the Jabra Speak 510+ UC. There are a few different versions of the speakerphone, all with varying features and connection types.

Here are the basics about the Jabra Speak 510+ UC:

Bluetooth USB connector Includes Jabra Link 360 adapter

First, we unboxed the speakerphone. It was tucked inside of a zippered carrying pouch. We unzipped it, pulled out the phone, and got to work.

The Jabra Speak 510+ UC was tested with a Mac computer and a Motorola smartphone with Android. It’s always (or usually) a good idea to charge your battery-powered devices before you use them. The speakerphone is charged via USB, so we plugged it into the Mac and it automatically started refueling.

Using the Jabra Speak 510+ UC with a Mac

To test out the Jabra Speak 510+ UC’s audio, we played some Internet talk shows and YouTube videos through the Mac, over the USB connection. Well, it didn’t work right away. We had to go into the Mac’s settings and select “Jabra Speak 510 USB” as the sound output device. The Mac also had headphones plugged in, so that may have confused the system.

Talk shows sounded amazing through the speakerphone—much better than through the connected headphones or the Mac’s own speakers. Music videos from YouTube were great too, especially from such a small, desktop speaker. Audiophiles might appreciate a speaker system with more depth, but the Jabra Speak 510+ UC gets the job done for a portable device.

Using the speakerphone with a smartphone

Next on the docket: testing the Bluetooth connection. The Jabra Speak 510+ UC includes a “Get Started in Under 5 Minutes” booklet that quickly guides you through the setup process. It told us to hold down the Bluetooth button on the phone for a few seconds until we started hearing instructions. Sure enough, that’s what happened.

We turned on the smartphone’s Bluetooth and selected the Jabra Speak from the pairing menu. The speakerphone told us it was connected, and that was it!

Calls through the Jabra Speak 510+ UC were incredibly clear and much better than through the smartphone’s own speaker and speakerphone. The caller couldn’t hear background noises that were happening in the office, which was definitely a plus.

For fun, the caller put their phone next to a radio to see what would happen. Music from the radio didn’t come through very well, but we’re thinking the caller’s phone had noise cancellation technology built in that may have interfered.

Using the included Jabra Link 360 adapter

Let’s say that the Jabra Speak 510+ UC’s USB cable is too short, or you don’t want more cables cluttering your desk. You can go wireless! The speakerphone includes the Jabra Link 360 adapter. The adapter plugs into the USB port on a computer and creates a wireless Bluetooth connection with the speakerphone. The adapter automatically connects to the speakerphone so you don’t have to tinker with settings.

Once again, we used the adapter with the Mac. Audio quality didn’t change at all. We didn’t notice any benefit of using the USB connection over the Bluetooth connection. In the end, it depends on your preference; whether you’d rather have a wired or wireless connection to the speakerphone.

Switching between the connections

At the end of our test, the Jabra Speak 510+ UC was connected to the Mac, the smartphone and the Link 360 adapter all at once. We could use the buttons on the speakerphone to switch between connection types, or the device did it on its own.

While the Mac was playing talk radio through the Jabra Speak 510+ UC, we placed a call through the smartphone. The Jabra Speak automatically switched to its Bluetooth connection with the smartphone and the call was routed to the speakerphone.

No one has to fumble with connecting the speakerphone to the smartphone mid-call, as long as the Bluetooth connection has already been established. Another thing we noticed was that the Mac didn’t try playing talk radio through its own speakers after the Jabra Speak switched to the smartphone.

Learn more about the Jabra Speak 510+ UC

The Jabra Speak 510+ UC speakerphone is perfect for softphones and unified communications applications like 3CX and Skype for Business. It also features a 3.5mm port to plug in a headset. We briefly tested the phone’s audio and connectivity options, but there is plenty more that this device can do.

Jabra is a world-renowned manufacturer of business headsets and audio solutions. The Jabra Speak 510+ UC brings all of Jabra’s sound and telephony expertise into a portable conferencing device, which is vital to today’s teleworkers and busy travelers.

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